This archive report was first published on 14 October 2019.
Kipchoge Makes History: First Human to Complete Marathon in Under 2 Hours ¶
On Saturday, October 12, 2019, at exactly 11:15 am Kenya time, Eliud Kipchoge made history by becoming the first human in recorded history to complete a marathon in under 2 hours.
The incredible feat was aided by technology and sponsored by British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe's company INEOS, which spent over $25 million on road resurfacing alone.
Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand was one of the first to congratulate Kipchoge, tweeting 'Unreal Scenes… @EliudKipchoge?? #Eliud159 #Kipchoge159'.
TV personality Piers Morgan was also impressed, writing 'BOOM! History is made – the first ever sub-2hr marathon. Congratulations @EliudKipchoge, a truly remarkable achievement.'
English actor Alistair Petrie tried to put Kipchoge's achievement in perspective, saying 'Get on a running machine and set it at 2.50 mins per km. Put in on ‘20’ setting. Any regular human will last seconds if able to get up to that speed at all.'
Grammy Award winner Alicia Keys and South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa also congratulated Kipchoge on his achievement.
US president Donald Trump's firstborn son Donald Trump Jr. wrote 'Truly incredible. A SUB 2 hour marathon!!! Congratulations!'
On Sunday morning, former US president Barack Obama added his voice, recognising both Kipchoge and Chicago Marathon record breaking winner Brigid Kosgei.
Liverpool's favourite penalty taker James Milner made light of the situation, tweeting 'Unreal effort from @EliudKipchoge and @BrigidKosgei. Two incredible achievements in one weekend.'
